28/11/2025
قاربت المركبة فويجر ١ والتي تم إطلاقها في العام ١٩٧٧ من أن يصل مداها إلى يوم ضوئي ، حيث تستغرق الموجات الكهرومغناطيسية ومنها الضوء ٢٤ ساعة لقطع تلك المسافة.
Launched on September 5, 1977, Voyager 1 was designed to explore Jupiter and Saturn and then just kept going. In 2012, it crossed the heliopause, leaving the solar system and entering interstellar space as the first human-made object to do so. Today, it’s approaching a staggering milestone: 1 light-day from Earth, roughly 16 billion miles (26 billion kilometers).
At this distance, even a light-speed signal takes 24 hours to reach Voyager 1. For comparison: the Moon is 1.3 light-seconds away, Mars about 3 light-minutes, and Pluto 5.5 light-hours. Voyager 1 continues traveling at 38,000 mph, powered by a decaying plutonium generator and running on its 1970s-era computer systems.
Though its instruments will stop transmitting around 2030, Voyager 1 will keep drifting silently through interstellar space, carrying the Golden Record Earth’s sounds, music, images, and greetings. In 40,000 years, it will pass near another star, and in 300 million years, it will complete one orbit of the Milky Way. Even as humanity changes, this tiny spacecraft will remain a testament to human curiosity and ambition.
Credits / Sources
Credit: NASA Voyager Mission, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
